I believe that Iginla could end up being the Flames’ Mats Sundin.  He wants to stay.  He wants to be part of the solution. But what if he has to be traded to make the team better?  That’s the question Calgary is left with.  So despite indications that Iginla wants to stay, the Flames may try to convince him to go elsewhere because their current plan isn’t exactly working.

Filatov trade may be imminent:

Relations between Nikita Filatov and the Columbus Blue Jackets have turned chilly, and this might mean that a trade is imminent.  The Jackets could bring him back this season to see what he can do, but it would he horrible for locker room chemistry.  So the bet here is that Filatov will never again wear a Blue Jackets sweater, that he’ll be traded at the NHL entry draft in June or later in the summer.  Filatov is still considered an elite prospect — some still feel he could turn into a superstar.  That might mean the Jackets can yield a proven NHL player in exchange for the 19-year-old winger.

Thomas to Flyers possible:

The Philadelphia Flyers tried to trade for Tim Thomas at the trade deadline and with their goalie troubles right now, they may try again in the offseason.  The Flyers lost Ray Emery to a potentially career-threatening injury and, now, they’re without Michael Leighton for the season.  So it’s Brian Boucher all the way.  That’s bad.  So although they could target Marty Turco, Dan Ellis for Evgeni Nabokov — all impending free agents — I feel that they’ll target Thomas instead.

In Boston, Tuukka Rask has taken over the No. 1 job and if the Bruins can hold onto their playoff spot, it looks like Rask will be starting over Thomas, the reigning Vezina winner.  What makes Thomas even more appealing to the Flyers is the dip in his salary each of the next three years. He’ll make $6 million next season, but that goes down to $5 million in 2011-12 and then $3 million in 2012-13.

When I think about it it makes me feel like history had already been written and we just got to watch it unfold.  I mean to think that Canada’s current superstar was the one to put the biscuit in the basket securing the gold for the home team on its home ice.  The last time that was done was the 1980 U.S. win in Lake Placid.  For Canada it was the first time in their history winning gold on their home turf.

Other Tidbits:

The Bruins still want Keith Tkachuk and may be pursuing him,  even though Tkachuk has said he doesn’t want to leave St. Louis.

The big rumor out of Boston is that the Bruins and the Edmonton Oilers are working on a big trade involving several players.  The rumored deal would bring F Andrew Cogliano and a defenseman to Boston.  We know the Oilers want to dump several players – especially the big contracts – so this would make sense.

In addition, Cogliano may be the scorer they’re looking for. However, the Bruins have other options.  They may try to pry Tomas Kaberle from the Leafs today, or deal for Cory Stillman.

New Habs GM Pierre Gauthier indicated he wants to re-sign Tomas Plekanec, so although there hasn’t been much contract talk yet, Gauthier might start soon because if he can’t get something done, he could trade Plekanec.  The interest is certainly there. Last month, Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis took several of his top assistants and scouts for a trip to Montreal, and there was buzz that he was eying Plekanec, as well as Habs defensemen Josh Gorges and Ryan O’Byrne.  But unless the Habs think they can’t sign Plekanec at all, they might hold onto him because Plekanec has said he has no intentions of testing the free agent market.

Another concern for Montreal is the goalie position.  With Habs GM Bob Gainey stepping down, Pierre Gauthier takes over and he indicated that he will hold onto his two goalies until after the season.  Either Carey Price or Jaroslav Halak will have to go because both guys expect to start, and most have speculated that it will be Halak who is traded at the deadline.  We know Gainey was likely in favor of dealing Halak, but scouts generally feel Price is the more valuable goalie, which might be why the Habs haven’t discussed any serious trades regarding him. Halak, on the other hand, was almost headed to Philadelphia at one point.

Also, there was buzz that Halak demanded a trade because he wants to be a starter, but since his rumored demand, he has played so well that he has essentially been the No. 1 goalie in Montreal over Price. The St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars may be suitors for Halak in the offseason.

More Rumors From the Ice.

Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray was spotted at the Atlanta Thrashers-Toronto Maple Leafs game, which might indicate that something is going on between the Leafs and Ducks.  Meanwhile, Leafs scouts have been spotted at previous Ducks games, only furthering the speculation.  Rumor is that Murray has been entertaining numerous trade scenarios.  Teams have inquired about the availability of Bobby Ryan and Scott Niedermayer, but it appears Ryan isn’t going anywhere while Niedermayer may be trade bait.  Two names that keep coming up in Ducks trade talks are Joffrey Lupul and Jean-Sebastien Giguere, so those guys may be moved at some point this season.  Though the Leafs will likely stay away from Giguere, Lupul might be the guy they’re after.  One possible scenario might be a Giguere for Vesa Toskala deal, with other pieces involved.

Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak going to the St.Louis Blues is looking like a possibility. Some have felt Halak should be starting over Carey Price in Montreal, but since that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen, it might be time they spun their backup goalie into some gold.  One possible destination for Halak is Philadelphia, where Flyers starting goalie Ray Emery is hurt and while backup Brian Boucher is taking on the No. 1 job, there seems to be no long-term option there, so Halak might be the fix.

Another rumor is that the St. Louis Blues are interested.  With Chris Mason and Ty Conklin, though, it doesn’t seem it’s an urgent matter.  As with every goalie rumor, the Detroit Red Wings might be looking this direction, too, but acquiring Halak might mess with the development of Jimmy Howard so the Wings might be favoring a short-term veteran stop-gap.  Even so, NHL scouts say that teams are interested in Halak.

Habs backup goalie Jaroslav Halak has gotten more ice time than franchise goalie Carey Price, which might mean the latter player will soon be traded.  More and more, it appears management is pushing to see if Halak has what it takes to be a top NHL goalie, and he’s definitely shown flashes.  Price was supposed to be Montreal’s goalie of today and the future, things just aren’t working out that way.  The 2005 fifth overall draft pick took the NHL by storm in his rookie year, with a .920 save percentage in 41 games played and an average of a Quality Start per game.  Unfortunately, goaltending performances fluctuate from season to season more often than at any other position, and too many expectations were placed on the British Columbia native too soon.  The past year has been nothing short of a disaster for Price, but maybe he will get a second chance to prove he’s a starting goalie elsewhere.

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Lidstrom became the first European defenseman and eighth overall to reach 1,000 points, assisting on two goals in his teams 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.  Lidstrom is a six-time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s best defenseman.  Last nights game also showed that forward Pavel Datsyuk is beginning the year the same way he closed out last season, on the injury list.  He is showing that even though he is considered one of the best two way players in the league, you have to be healthy to be effective.  Detroit desperately needs Datsyuk to get on track to make their offense as potent as it can be.  With the tough competition in the western conference this year the aging Wings will need all the help they can get.

Well it seems like the possibility of the NHL playing again in Quebec City is not that far off.  They have announced their  intention to build a new arena in the hopes of bringing back an NHL team and one day hosting the Winter Olympics.  The City’s mayor has hired an engineering firm SNC Lavalin to conduct a feasibility study.  He hopes to see the arena built from 2010 to 2012.  The Mayor expects the arena to cost $400 million, with the city contributing $50 million to the project. He wants the federal and provincial governments to each pony up $175 million under infrastructure programs.  Quebec lost the Nordiques in 1995, when they left to become the Colorado Avalanche who went on to win the Stanley cup in 1996.  The aging Colisee arena has been cited as the main reason for the city’s inability to attract another NHL team.  I hope that the city can get this deal done because it would be awesome for hockey and its fans to have another Canadian team in the league, not to mention the rivalries that would be rekindled.

After Nikolai Khabibulin took the Blackhawks to the Western conference finals some worried that with his departure to the Edmonton Oilers in the offseason that the goaltending duties would be well handled by Cristobal Huet.  Well, it seems that some of those fears are now being realized.  If backup netminder Antti Niemi continues to play well, and Cristobal Huet continues to struggle, there will be a change in goal for the Blackhawks.  This comes after Huet, the No. 1, was pulled last night after just seven minutes into the third period, after allowing three goals on five shots.

The chances of superstar forward Ilya Kovalchuk re-signing with the Atlanta Thrashers is 70-30 according to my sources.  But if he doesn’t want to re-sign with the Thrashers then it’s possible he may be traded to the Edmonton Oilers.  If the Thrashers are moving their captain and best player at the deadline, it means they can’t sign him and he’s going to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.  That complicates things for the team dealing and the team that’s interested because Atlanta wants to get something for a guy who’s going to walk, but can’t get market value for an impending unrestricted free agent.

Anaheim Ducks netminder Jean-Sebastien Giguere could be headed north to the Toronto Maple Leafs after Vesa Toskala’s struggles.   Also, Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson who is looking to unseat Toskala as the teams number 1 goalie got his first start last night and ended up losing 2-1.  There are reports that the Leafs are afraid that Toskala is not viable and that he will continue to struggle.  The leafs acquired Gustavsson in the offseason because they were not convinced that Toskala would be their future between the pipes.

It seems as though Semyon Varlomav playoff run last season has not won him any favors with the Washington Capitals coaching staff.  Head Coach Bruce Boudreau needs Varlamov to be mentally tougher.  He lets opposing teams score in bunches and that zaps his confidence.  In the playoffs it’s easier to keep your head in the game because everything is always on the line, sometimes you get caught up in the regular season feeling as if things should be easier only to find out they’re not.  The rookie needs to keep his chin up and all will be good, let’s remember he does have a few guys who can score in bunches of their own like MVP Alex Ovechkin.

I’m hearing rumblings of an NHL team moving back to Winnipeg.  Their have been ongoing negotiations with the Atlanta Thrashers to possibly relocate.  It’s no secret that the Thrashers are losing money (6 million a year to be exact) and now word comes that Canada’s richest man may be getting involved.  David Thomson is interested in bringing a team to the northern Manitoba city.  Thomson already owns the arena where the Manitoba Moose play and is looking to revive the history of the Jets.  The team left Winnipeg for Phoenix Arizona where they thought they would find greener pastures. Over fifteen years later that isn’t the case and that same team is hemorrhaging money.  Blackberry owner Jim Basillie is trying to acquire the Phoenix team and move it to Hamilton.  He hasn’t been successful yet which is why I feel Thomson is getting involved with the NHL, he is way to wealthy and influential to not get what he wants.

Stay tuned for more on this developing story. Follow us on Twitter @hockeylicious.

The new look Montreal Canadiens took to the ice at the Air Canada Center in downtown Toronto to take on the Maple leafs in their season opener, and what an opener it was.  The Canadiens came from behind in the third period to tie the game sending it to overtime where the Habs took control and scored the winning goal with just under 13 seconds showing on the clock.  The Canadiens looked impressive in their first game playing as a team.  So far the changes GM Bob Gainey made in the offseason are paying dividends, he just hopes they can continue to match tonight’s effort and intensity.

Mike Cammaelleri played a great game tonight that was just full of speed and energy collecting two assists.  He made an incredible pass on our first PP goal to forward Brian Gionta and finished with setting up the game winner. Gionta showed tonight how fast he is, how good his positioning is and my, oh my, just how good his hands are.  He managed to score only once, but his hands and offensive positioning gave him at least two other glorious chances.  He worked well with Scott Gomez as they always seemed to know where the other one was on the ice.  It was like the old days for the two players when they played together in New Jersey.  Defenseman Andrei Markov went down with what appeared to be a laceration (from Price’s skate) to the leg.

The real story may be though the solid play of goaltender Carey Price.  He stopped 43 shots en-route to the OT win.  Price has faced all kinds of criticism in this past off season due to his collapse after the all-star game and then especially for his performance in the playoffs losing to Boston in 4 straight games in the first round.  However last night Price flashed the talent and performance that management and the fans are looking for.  If Price continues this level of play ( and yes I know it’s only been one game ) then the Canadiens will be in the thick of the race for the Stanley Cup Trophy.

Check back later for late scores and updates.

Jay Bouwmeester agreed to terms on a five-year deal with the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night, forgoing unrestricted free agency.  His deal is worth an average of $6.6 million per season which is an increase from the $4.875 he made this past season.  Bouwmeester is one of the most complete defenseman in all of the NHL.   Bouwmeester who is a native of Edmonton just completed his sixth season with the Florida Panthers in 2008-09, he recorded 42 points with 15 goals and 27 assists.  The six-foot-four, 213-pounder has 203 points in 471 career NHL games. He was picked with the third overall draft pick by the Panthers in 2002.

When the day started at 12:01 a.m a lot of players became free agents.  By the end of the week we will have a pretty good idea of who will be signing where and for how much.  One thing I’m looking forward to is the flurry of activity.  It’s always fun to speculate the possibility of your team getting all the best players, in reality that doesn’t usually happen but that’s why they call it dreaming.